The Muppet Show Is Back, as Muppet-y as You Want It To Be

Over the past decade, the Muppets have been reinvented repeatedly in various TV genres. First there was the ABC mockumentary comedy The Muppets (canceled in 2016 after one season), then the limited, unscripted Disney+ series Muppets Now (didn't catch on in 2020), and after that, 2023's The Muppets Mayhem, which also streamed on Disney+ and centered on Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem, but didn't have much teeth as a cultural phenomenon.

Now, in 2026, the Muppets are returning to their roots with a special called The Muppet Show. As the title implies, this 30-minute episode replicates the format and tone of Jim Henson's original The Muppet Show, which ran in U.S. syndication from 1976 to 1981. Instead of trying to reinvent the wheel yet again, the people at Disney and The Muppets Studio finally said: "You know what? Let's just get out the old wheel." It's a smart move, because the old wheel works just as well in 2026 as it did 50 years ago.

This single installment of television, streaming on Disney+ starting Wednesday and airing that night on ABC, is obviously a potential jumping-off point for a full season of The Muppet Show, as Kermit the Frog himself points out in this (possible) pilot. "We are so excited to be back on the very stage where it all started and then ended, and then is maybe starting again depending on how tonight goes," the banjo-strumming amphibian explains to the audience inside the Muppet Theatre and to those of us watching from afar on our various devices. If the decision-makers at Disney and ABC have even the smallest sliver of a clue, they will immediately follow Kermit's advice and reboot The Muppet Show for an extended run. 

Can you think of a time in recent history when we have needed the Muppets in our lives more than we do right now? I personally cannot. While hearing Fozzie Bear say "Wocka wocka," or watching Beaker's eyeballs shoot out of his skinny meep-meeping head can't technically bring peace to our volatile society, I respectfully ask you to consider this: What if they can?

At the very least, having Kermit, Miss Piggy, Gonzo and the their fellow felt comrades star in a new Muppet Show would bring us all some joy, unless you're one of those weird, sad people who don't like the Muppets, in which case I strongly recommend you seek professional help. I actually dare any normal human being to watch Wednesday's episode of The Muppet Show and refrain from smiling from ear to ear for at least 30 consecutive seconds, if not all 30 minutes of its runtime. It is physically impossible.

9.0

The Muppet Show

at Disney+

Like

• It's The Muppet Show and it's as charming and fun as you remember it. What's not to like?

Dislike

• That there is only one episode. The Muppet Show shouldn't need to audition for a spot on television.

This Muppet Show episode is the purest expression of Muppetness to exist in the world since 2011's theatrical release The Muppets, which was co-written by its star, Jason Segel, and also effectively capitalized on the deep nostalgia for Jim Henson's '70s and '80s puppet-centric variety program. Perhaps notably, Seth Rogen serves as an executive producer on this Muppet Show episode and makes an appearance in it, too, proving that Freaks and Geeks alumni are crucial to the success of any Muppet-related production. (Linda Cardellini was also in Muppets Now, and even though it did not become a thing, it was still entertaining. My theory holds up, people!)

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This iteration of The Muppet Show, directed by Tony Award-winning Broadway veteran Alex Timbers, is structured like a classic Muppet Show episode. There's a celebrity guest, in this case Sabrina Carpenter, who participates in musical numbers set to pop songs both old and recent; sketches written very much in the vein of what used to be on The Muppet Show, including a Bridgerton parody called "Pigs in Wigs"; and backstage drama that makes us wonder whether the Muppets will actually finish the performance as they intended. Statler and Waldorf still sit in the balcony and relentlessly heckle the entire production. Miss Piggy still gets pissy and "Hi-yah!"s her way into the room when the moment calls for it. They are indeed playing the hits here.

Speaking of hits, Disney has specifically asked critics not to identify any of the songs that are performed in this episode. But I think it's okay to say this: Kermit and Carpenter, a triple threat who appears to have been genetically designed to be the perfect Muppet Show host, perform a well-known '80s tune while accompanied by a bunch of Muppet fish that pop out of the water to add "La-la"s in between verses. Reader: I watched this number, and I wept.

In another context, trotting out so many familiar characters and bits might seem like another one of Hollywood's lazy attempts to recycle familiar IP. But this episode is made with such obvious reverence for the Muppets — several of the executive producers and cast members have participated in past Muppet endeavors, including Dave Goelz, who has been the voice of Gonzo and Dr. Bunsen Honeydew since the original Muppet Show — and with such a sense of glee that those feelings become infectious. Even if you try to get mad at the idea of redoing The Muppet Show, you can't do it.

The only complaint I have about this attempt at a reboot is that it wasn't automatically given the go-ahead for more episodes. Because it's as clear as the nose on Gonzo's face after watching this special that it is absolutely time to get things started on a new Muppet Show, immediately. 

Premieres: Wednesday, Feb. 4 on Disney+ and at 9/8c on ABC
Who's in it: Sabrina Carpenter, Maya Rudolph, Seth Rogen, the Muppets
Who's behind it: Alex Timbers (director/executive producer)
For fans of: The Muppets, obviously